Ilias Barni (real name) was born on July 23, 1992 in Molenbeek into a family of Moroccan origin. He was soon introduced to music, and in 2008 joined a group playing dakka marrakchia, a style of Moroccan ritual and folk music based on percussion. The young Ilias took to the band's sound, calling it Dakka TiiwTiiw and performing at numerous weddings. TiiwTiiw became his nickname, "little devil", which he kept for his personal career. While the band was running out of steam, ending its activity in 2016, TiiwTiiw was also getting used to the stage and learning stand-up comedy. The world of show business was an obvious choice, and despite his parents' concerns, he left school to devote himself fully to it. An absolute fan of Michael Jackson and a rap listener, he tried his hand at his first songs, before hitting the big time in 2013 with a Moroccan version of "Jingle Bells". In 2016, "Te Amo", with its electronic rhythms and pop and raï accents, attracted over a hundred million views. Ilias then began a series of compilations, entitled Dream Tiiw, from 2015, and collaborated with numerous personalities such as l'Algérino. He got closer to DJ Hamida, a French-Moroccan musician and producer, with whom he composed "Chouwaya Chaabi" and took part in Planète Rap on Skyrock. In 2017, he unveiled two tracks, "Ma Fille" and "Hasta Luego", where electronic sounds, mixed with traditional Moroccan music, brought in millions of views. Now well recognized, TiiwTiiw took part in Mawazine in Rabat, Africa's biggest music festival. He performed in front of 150,000 people. However, his universal, unifying music is still struggling to make a name for itself with the French public. In 2020, TiiwTiiw passed the billion-view mark on YouTube, more than Damso, Angèle and Roméo Elvis combined. While he is now well integrated into the Moroccan music scene, alongside the likes of Shayfeen, Madd and Tagne, his Khosé project, released in 2021, with contributions from rapper Lacrim and Mister You, brings him ever closer to notoriety in France.
